Witness testifies in Sithole murder trial
JOBURG - The four suspects accused of killing Emmanuel Sithole, the Mozambican national, pleaded not guilty to the murder charges at the Johannesburg Magistrates' Court on 23 June.
The four suspects accused of killing Mozambican national, Emmanuel Sithole, pleaded not guilty to the murder charges at the Johannesburg Magistrates’ Court on 23 June.
Three of the accused, Mthinto Bhengu, Sizwe Mngomezulu and Sifundo Mzimela, and the 17-year-old minor, appeared before Magistrate Lucas van der Schyff charged with murder and assault with intent to commit grievous bodily harm. They also pleaded not guilty to the assault charge.
Before the court could resume, Sithole’s relatives made an application to be allowed inside the court to hear the proceedings, as they had been excluded on Monday when only the media was allowed inside the court on condition they would not disclose the minor’s name.
Van der Schyff permitted the relatives to attend the court hearing, as the application was not objected to by the suspect’s legal representatives.
The accused sat quietly as as State lawyer, Jacob Tloubatla, called his first witness, Sibusiso Mnyandu.
Mnyandu told the court how he saw Sithole being stabbed and assaulted on the side of the road. “I was sitting outside with my friends chatting about football when the incident happened,” he said.
“I knew Sithole as he was selling cigarettes on the corner of the street [1st Avenue]. He was chased by three guys, the first one hit him at the back of his head.”
Mnyandu added that it was not possible to intervene, as at the time everyone feared for their lives while xenophobia was sweeping the country.
“I was scared to intervene because people would think I was taking Sithole’s side,” he stated.
Tloubatla presented images which were taken by Sunday Times photographer, James Oatway, who happened to be on the scene at the time. These images were used as part of the evidence and to support Mnyandu’s testimony.
“The journalist who was taking photos of the looted shops in the area asked what the reason was for Sithole’s assault,” said Mnyandu. The photographer had asked this as he was taking the pictures.
Mnyandu said he had asked the journalist to take the badly injured Sithole to hospital. Sithole was eventually rushed to hospital but died on arrival.
According to Mnyandu, he only heard about Sithole’s death in the news the following day. The case resumes on June 30, and all the accused were remanded in custody.
